The Forgotten King
by GoodEnoughTheOpenDoor
Summary: The other side of Kurama's mysterious past narrated by O/C. Both find themselves bombarded with memories of each other as they struggle to reconnect.
1. Chapter 1

Reiki walked down the beaten paths that ran through the underground city, her normal activity when she thought about the past and grew sad. This morning she woke up from a nightmare that left her feeling hopeless. She pondered on the dream a great deal and was displeased with herself for putting so much time and thought into it. She wore an over-sized white, sleeveless shirt and a rather tattered black skirt that went down to just past her knees. She had a very intricate, deep blue necklace that didn't exactly match the rest of the jewelry; two thick silver bands with emeralds and sapphires embedded into them around her wrists and many small, hooped earrings made of the same materials. There was also a head piece draped across her forehead that hid behind her hair, it matched up exactly with the bands around her wrists and her earrings. Her hair was a deep auburn and her skin was as white as the dead.

She did not stop or look up as she started to hear children playing around the corner. The sounds made her coil deeper into her thoughts. She felt stuck in time, watching the people of the city create families, grow old, die, and do it all over again as she stood like a stone statue throughout the test of time. She had been brought to the city at the age of twenty, a captive who was forced to unlock her powers or die. The late ruler had brought her there to be the city's eternal doctor. Only humans can posses such a power and in doing so, the power's side affect makes the human immortal. She had been with the underground city for about seven hundred years, never aging and unable to die, regardless of the assault inflicted upon her.

Though, she's rarely been hurt; the residents of the city had worshiped her since the first time she used her powers. They would do anything and everything to protect her. As she turned the corner, one of the children started to cry. This brought Reiki out of her mind and back to reality as she looked for the source of the crying. She found one of the children huddled over his knee and making quite a scene. The child was wearing poorly made clothes that were very torn and dirty. His hair was down to his rear and a shade of dirty blonde. On top of his head, there were two perky, dog-like ears of the same shade, and a wimpy tail curled around him. Reiki didn't say a word as she discretely went over to the boy and gently placed her hand on his scraped knee. The boy's skin started to glow under Reiki's hand and the boy calmed down, and then the glow faded away and Reiki stood back up. The boy wiped away his tears and thanked her. She patted the boy between his odd ears and smiled before walking away.

These strange features were not odd at all though, everyone in the city had dog-like, perky ears and tails except for Reiki. As she made her way back to the biggest residence in the city that sat against the back wall of the cavern, she watched a man with silver hair dash past her. This color among the people of the city was rare and meant that they had the blood of royalty. Reiki sighed as she recalled what real royalty looked like. The man who had just past by her had only about one-forth royal blood in him; but royalty and blood no longer mattered to the city. Their king had walked out on them and left them completely guide-less. He had no heir and left the people nothing but the gift that is Reiki.

As Reiki entered the mansion, a band of young men awaited her eagerly. Reiki paused for a second to look at them, but before they could speak she waved them off, "Do what you must," and she started up the grand staircase.

"But, Reiki!" the head of the band began, "We wouldn't feel confident in the quest without your blessing!" His hair was long and black and his clothes were just as worn as everyone else's.

Reiki stopped and turned to him and gave a weak smile, "Then you have my blessing," and she turned and continued up the stairs and around the corner to the right. She listened to the excited men's voices as they faded out of the mansion and she was alone in the quiet again. "Why do they always have to steal shit," she sighed to herself as she entered a room that appeared to function as an office.

"Because it's a part of their genetics," a vaguely familiar voice replied.

Reiki couldn't hide the fact that she had been startled as she turned around to face a man who was said to be dead centuries ago, "Yomi…" she could barely speak. The last time she saw him he was a scrawny thing with two pointy ears and two small horns growing out of his head. Now he stood before her, buffed out, six ears that were all pointy, and a few more horns. His eyes were closed and showed no sign of opening. "How…?" she trailed off in awe.

Yomi gave way to a small chuckle and motioned for her to sit down. Reiki ignored the gesture and gathered herself enough to ask, "how did you get into the city?"

He had a small, contempt smile on his face, "I've known this city's deepest secrets for a very long time now," he answered simply.

Reiki stared at him, "We thought you were dead… how—"

"I was merely blinded, but this had nothing to do with why I am here," he cut her off.

"I see that," were the only words she could come up with, "What brings you back here after all this time?" she sat down on a faded chair.

Yomi followed suite, folding his hands in front of him, "I have quite a bit of news for you, my dear," he paused as he planned to build suspense. Reiki did nothing but blink. "Your heart has no pulse," Yomi commented on the side, his ears twitched slightly.

"I'm aware," Reiki's tone changed to a more serious one, "What is it that you wish to tell me?"

Yomi decided it might be in his best interest to get on with it, "Well, from my observations, you have no idea that Kurama was announced dead almost two decades ago—"

"What?" Reiki stood up, her face was mortified.

"Calm down, that's just the beginning." Reiki slowly sat back down as Yomi continued, "He is now cavorting around as a red-headed human and is in alliance with the Spirit World." He paused, knowing this news would be even harder to take in.

"That's total bullshit, Yomi; you and I both know he'd never do something like helping the Spirit World," Reiki was now carrying yet another tone, an annoyed one.

"I have to admit, I didn't believe it either, but then I did some research. The Spirit World had set him up with a false trinket to steal and the SDF ambushed him. They planned to kill him, but he used the last of his energy to transform into his spirit animal and escaped. He apparently settled in a human embryo to regroup. This human version of Kurama has taken quite a toll on his thoughts and actions; and the real reason he is working with the Spirit World is to erase his lengthy criminal record." Yomi bowed his head slightly to cue that he was finished, for the moment.

For a minute they were both silent.

"Why are you telling me this?" Reiki finally replied.

Yomi sighed, almost straining to explain himself, "Because I would hate to see this city continue to believe he had abandoned them," he paused for a second, struggling to find words, "I know Kurama more than anyone in this world or the next, and I know that even though he'd never be able to admit it, these people are his kin and he would do anything for them. That's why when he was ambushed he didn't come back here for you to heal him. It would have given the city away to the Spirit World and the SDF would have a field day."

Reiki fell back against the chair as if she had just been assaulted. She sighed and stared at the ceiling, forcing her emotions away, "Why… are you telling me all of this?"

Yomi's smile grew large, "Because he's coming back," he paused for a brief second, "To help me take over Demon World."

"Oh, god," Reiki whispered while rolling her eyes, "Haven't you two tortured the world enough?"

Yomi's smile faded, "This world is a vast glory of unintelligent ogres and anarchy, and with, or without, Kurama I'm going to bring this world together."

"Have fun," Reiki said lazily as she got up, "Don't get us involved," and motioned out the window that viewed over the entire city before she left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reiki stumbled and threw her arms out to catch her balance before falling down. She looked to the top of the hill; a very deep, loud grumbling was coming closer. She snapped around to face a good number of men and women who were dirty and frightened. The man who had just pushed her started approaching again. Reiki started to stutter but the man shoved her again, "You have to do it! It's your time— for everyone in the village!" Reiki fell to her knees that time; she was trembling underneath the long, flowing, white ceremonial gown they had forced her to put on. She wanted to scream out, or cry.

The grumbling in the distance started to cease as an enormous figure started to appear over the hill. Reiki picked herself up reluctantly as she stared at the figure. The waning crescent moon disappeared behind the giant. _Oh, my god! They really are going to sacrifice me! I thought it was a metaphor!_ She panicked silently as she felt the robes brush against her skin and her hair across her face.

The giant came to a stop and beamed down at the girl in white. He began to laugh, the thunder rolling through the village just behind the hill he stood on. "My, my," the giant's deathly voice mused, "What a catch indeed! I might be too full to come back until the seasons change!" His laughter started bellowing through the forests and valleys again. Reiki could only stare up at the giant. He wore only a loincloth, his skin a dark maroon, his teeth as yellow as corn, and horns that extended into the night sky. He licked his lips and started to reach for Reiki.

The only thing Reiki could bring herself to do was wrap herself in her arms and look away, tears almost breaking their seems. _I can't believe I'm going to be eaten by and ugly, giant demon. This is stupid!_ At that second she felt an arm wrap around her waist and before she knew it, she was airborne. She gasped and realized someone had snatched her up before the giant could. She looked up to see a man with long, silver hair with ears of a fox instead of a human's. He had a nicely defined jaw line but that was the only part of his face she could see. The arm she was cradled in was pale and the muscles were huge. His clothes slightly resembled her own and, once again, she could only stare as he landed on a branch and set her on her feet.

"Yomi!" his deep, collected voice called out to the shadows and another man appeared on a tree branch close to theirs. "Watch her," the silver fox demon commanded before he leapt off the branch back towards the giant demon.

Yomi placed his hand on Reiki's shoulder, "Don't worry, we aren't going to kill or eat you."

Reiki slowly looked up at the second young demon, lean with pointy ears and pathetic horns. His robes were similar to the fox demon's but were made with red and purple cloths. His hair was long and jet black. "Sure…" Reiki tried to swallow her tears, "You have to rape me first, don't you?"

Reiki was startled when Yomi gave way to a light, almost cheerful laugh, "As inviting as it sounds, Kurama would slaughter me if I tried."

"Kurama?" Reiki asked timidly, still obviously terrified to death.

Yomi smiled at her and pointed at the little white figure doing quite a number on the giant, "Kurama has something a bit more… noble in mind for you," Yomi turned to watch the fight. Reiki looked from the fight over to Yomi before leaping off the branch and rolling onto the ground beneath. She barely found her footing and began to run before Yomi appeared before her. She halted and turned on her heel, but once again Yomi was in front of her. "Why do you humans always have to make things difficult," Yomi sighed and grabbed her by the shoulders. Reiki ducked down, twisting and throwing her arm up to cause Yomi to lose his grip on her and she started running again. "Shit," Yomi grumbled and went after her. He grabbed her wrists from behind and held them at her head, or his chest, and placed his feet on the inside of hers to prevent any low blows.

"Yomi!" the deep, calm yet slightly agitated voice stopped the dance. Kurama walked around to face both of them, "I thought I told you to watch her, why is she running off?" Reiki stopped struggling and began to stare at the silver haired demon. He was very tall, very muscular, and his face was made of stone. His eyes were narrow and gold shone through them. His eyes were almost hidden by his bangs. His thin lips were almost soft. Kurama stepped forward and Yomi released Reiki. She stood motionless as Kurama gently placed a hand on her back, "Try not to worry too much, the worst is already over if you cooperate."

"W-what," Reiki forced in hopes of finding courage in hearing her voice, but it was meek. _He's definitely going to rape me! I'd rather be eaten by the giant!_

Kurama gave a small, malicious grin, "We kidnapped you," and he picked her up and threw her over his broad shoulder.

"Wait!" she tried to rebut, but Kurama and Yomi were already dashing through the trees at inhuman speeds.

* * *

Reiki shot up in her gigantic canopy bed dressed with the softest silk sheets and pillows. She sighed as the sweat started to appear along her skin. She looked down at her hands on her lap. _Why have I been dreaming of the day we met over and over again after Yomi told me Kurama was coming back to the Demon World? What the fuck am I supposed to do?_ She crawled out of bed and slowly dressed herself. She found some bread and water on a dresser but after staring at it a moment, she passed it up. She walked out into the streets of the underground city and wondered in a direction only her feet knew.

"Reiki!" an older male fox demon in leather armor waved to her. She turned to look at him blankly for a moment.

"General," she spoke softly as she approached him. A female fox demon was delicately taking the armor off of the General. "I believe I set out for you this morning subconsciously, is that silly?"

The General laughed, "You seek me out a lot, Reiki, mostly to scold me!" He laughed again.

Reiki gave in to a smile, "General, may I ask you a favor?" she said just as soft as she had spoken before.

"Anything, just name it!" he was over enthused about the success his men and he had in plundering a castle the night before.

"Will you take me to Muthera?" she asked with more confidence to express her seriousness.

The General stopped laughing, "Why do you want to go see Muthera, it's a dangerous journey, you know that," he said with all seriousness back.

Reiki nodded once, "I understand," she paused, "I need to speak with her."

"I see," the General stroked his beard a few times, "When would you like to go?"

"Now."

The General began to laugh again, "You don't play around, do you?" Reiki didn't reply. "Alright, let me gather some boys and we'll be on our way," The General announced.

"Thank you, General," Reiki gave him a small smile and turned towards the center of the city. She walked a slow, steady pace, lost in thought as she neared the central plaza. Two women with fox ears were walking away from the geyser fountain with containers filled with water. I few men with fox ears were gambling in front of a building. Reiki sat on the ledge of the fountain and looked into the ripples of the water caused by the geyser that shot out almost seven feet into the dry air. Reiki looked through the ripples and found her reflection staring back at her, "Jesus, I look like a fucking zombie," she murmured to herself as she pulled at the skin on her face.

"Don't worry, Reiki! You're gorgeous even if you haven't slept well!" One of the drunken gamblers replied to her.

"Ehk!" Reiki jumped. _Screw your excellent hearing_, she thought to herself as she blushed and waved, "Thank you," before running back to where the General was.

* * *

The wind blew rapidly through the hair of the men standing on a balcony overlooking an eerie city.

"You're far more shroud these days, Yomi," Kurama cracked emotionlessly into the wind.

"I have you to thank for it," Yomi reminded him. Kurama didn't respond, he took in the ghastly smell of the Demon World as Yomi continued, "Do you plan on having any side adventures while in Demon World?" Yomi probed his old friend.

Kurama remained silent for a moment, aware of what Yomi was getting at, "Not this time."

"That's too bad," Yomi looked from Kurama back to his marvelous city. "What's it like to live as a demon in the Human World?"

Kurama snickered lightly, "It's pretty difficult for a kleptomaniac; they have strict laws against pastimes like that."

Yomi and Kurama shared a small laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Reiki grabbed a rock to help her up the side of the cliff but the rock gave in and slid down the steep slope. Reiki watched the rock disappear below her and then reached for another one. She struggled to lift herself up to the next closest platform rock. She was covered in dirt and sweat and her breathing was heavy. She was struggling to keep up with the General and the three young demon foxes the General had gathered to come along for Reiki's protection.

"Please let us help you, Reiki!" the General shouted down to her.

Reiki looked up at the four fox demons who were taking a nice break from climbing the cliff. "General, how am I supposed to get stronger if all pf you keep babying me?" she shouted back as she lifted herself past another rock. "Kurama let me do things myself," she grumbled under her breath. She was agitated that the General kept trying to pick her up and carry her through the more rough terrains.

The General sighed as his ears twitched. _You sure it wasn't just because he didn't give a fuck,_ he thought to himself.

_Jerk,_ Reiki thought to herself about the General as she continued to climb; her hands and feet were covered in blood from her determination to keep up with the demons. _Why am I doing this? Can Muthera really help me with whatever these dreams I have mean?_

* * *

Kurama dipped into an alley to avoid his kin, his long silver hair almost giving him away as he rounded a corner and down a narrow set of stairs. _Where the hell is Reiki,_ he swore silently as he paused again due to voices. _Avoiding people in this god forsaken city is proving to be more difficult than I thought! _He made a small grunt and grabbed his stomach that was oozing a dark crimson all over his white clothes. _Shit,_ he decided to throw out the secretive routine and jumped up onto a rooftop. "Where is that little girl?" he groaned to himself again. He caught a whiff of human and took off after it.

He steadied to a walking pace as he entered a cave that lead to an underground river. Three boats were docked and rocking against each other. Kurama spotted Reiki walking along the riverbed. It had been half a century since Kurama kidnapped her, forced her to discover her healing powers, and use them to replace the need for doctors. Kurama stared at her, confused as to why she was hiding next to the river. Kurama thought she looked different in some way; her face seemed to have changed while she was next to the river. He had to remind himself that her physical appearance would never change.

Reiki noticed the smell of blood and looked up to see Kurama starting at her. She almost panicked but ran up to him regardless, "Yoko!" Kurama didn't acknowledge her; he just started to take off his clothes for her to heal his wound. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were back already," Reiki apologized for making him seek her out.

Kurama dug his nails into his hand as Reiki placed both her hands on his stomach and a small glow appeared. "It's alright, but it's not safe for you to be over here by yourself," he paused, a spasm of pain making his body shiver. "What were you doing out here?" he said a little more harshly than he intended.

Reiki pulled her hands away from his now perfect abdomen, "Um…" she was still timid to Kurama's tones, "Daydreaming, I guess."

"Daydreaming?" Kurama looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, "What about?"

Reiki gulped, afraid Kurama wouldn't be too happy with her answer, "What the world outside the city is like."

Kurama grabbed his clothes, "Come, there are some men who need your attention," and he headed back towards the city. Reiki nodded and started to follow, glancing back at the boats. Kurama bit his lip and pretended not to notice.

The Next morning Reiki awoke to the sounds of someone rummaging around in her room. She sat up abruptly, barely catching the sheets that were too eager to reveal her breasts, "Yoko?" she peeped out.

Kurama didn't acknowledge her until he had finished tearing apart a dresser. He grabbed a white cloak and brought it over to the canopy bed Reiki was in, "Put this on over your clothes then come find me," he said shortly then walked out of the room.

Reiki stared after him, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. "As you command, my king," she said sarcastically after a minute and crawled out of bed and did as she was told. She grabbed a piece of bread and started wondering around the mansion looking for the silver man. "How am I supposed to find you if you move five times faster than me?" she asked the empty corridors. She finally found Kurama in one of the drawing rooms; he was burning something in what might be considered a fireplace. "What's the cloak for?" she asked timidly as she entered the room.

Kurama sat down on a couch and motioned for her to come over, "You want to know what the world is like, don't you?" he gave her a slightly scary smile.

Reiki stopped about a yard in front of him, "Uh," she sighed, "Yes, I do."

Kurama looked her up and down, "I'm not going to hurt you, come sit down."

Reiki sat down on the opposite side of the couch reluctantly, "Sorry, you're kind of intimidating," Reiki wanted to read his facial expressions but he usually didn't show much on his face, plus she was afraid she would be smote if she looked into his eyes.

Kurama frowned, "I'll try to work on that," he looked over to what he had been burning. "Ready to go see the world?" he looked back at her.

"What?" she couldn't help looking up at him, she almost looked away when her eyes met his but something stopped her, "You mean," she wasn't sure what he meant.

Kurama gave her a more genuine smile, "You wanted to explore the world right? So let's go."

Reiki's jaw wanted to drop. _When did you learn to be nice,_ she wanted to reply, but smiled instead.

* * *

Reiki huffed one last time as she rolled out onto the flat ground at the top of the cliff, "See, I can do it too, assholes!" The three younger demons tried to hold back laughing at the General's face.

"Indeed, you can," the General said trying to hide the fact that he was dumbfounded and offered her a hand to help her up, which she took without hesitating. "What made you such a stubborn girl?"

Reiki looked at him like she didn't know was he was talking about. The General gave her a look back. "Probably the seven hundred years of being Yoko's nurse," Reiki replied. The General laughed and they continued their journey.

* * *

Kurama tossed himself onto his back and adjusted his pillow, his red hair fanning out underneath him. _Fuck, Yomi, why did you have to mention her?_ As he closed his eyes to sleep, he gave in and allowed his memories to consume him.

* * *

Reiki followed Kurama quietly as he marched through the forest, his hair almost blinding her when the sunlight hit it. When they reached a meadow Kurama stopped and turned to Reiki, "Where do you want to go?"

"Huh?" Reiki looked blankly at him as she nearly missed stubbing her toe on a rock.

Kurama smiled, "What would you like to see?"

Reiki looked around, "I don't understand."

"There are canyons, mountains, lakes, desserts, jungles, and oceans just to name a few," he said in an almost sarcastic tone.

Reiki stared at him, "What's an ocean?"

Kurama couldn't hold back his laughter so he tried to keep it to a minimal, "I'll show you."

When they reached the beach, the sun was low and red. There wasn't a living creature for miles. The waves crashed peacefully into the sand and a few bird-like creatures chirped as they vanished into the lowering sun. Reiki dug her toes into the sand, amazed by the new terrain. She then looked out to the ocean; there was nothing but the waves coming in, water out to the horizon, and the sun threatening to crash into it. Kurama watched Reiki's face as it glowed red and gold from the sun.

After a moment Reiki looked up at Kurama, "This is the ocean?" Kurama nodded once and looked out over the ocean himself, "It's amazing," Reiki sighed and sat down on the sand dune they stood on.

Kurama smiled, "You can go closer you know? Nothing will jump out and eat you."

Reiki's reply was a mad dash towards the water. She stopped when the cold, foamy water rushed across her feet and ankles and began to pull back into the ocean. Kurama followed her calmly until he couldn't go any further without getting his white shoes wet. "Can I go further?" Reiki looked back at Kurama with a smile he'd never seen her wear before.

"Only out to your waist, the—" Reiki didn't listen to the second half of what he had said, she was already knee deep by the time he had finished talking. Kurama sat on the shore and watched Reiki in silence, thinking about the smile she gave him and the red and gold sunlight that highlighted her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Reiki and the fox demons reached an eerie canyon with lava rushing through the bottom of it. On the other side of the canyon was an even more ominous castle that appeared to be made of a black stone. The sky was grey and storm clouds were rolling in. The group stood a few feet in front of a rickety old bridge that seemed to whisper "Death" as the wind blew through it.

"Looks like we barely made it in time," the General joked, "Who wants to go first?" One of the younger demons started to tip toe onto the creaking, swinging bridge. The General turned to Reiki, "You go next and I'll follow behind you." Reiki was not about to be stubborn about being ordered around, she nodded with a hint of hesitation and started the tip toeing. After the General were the last two demons.

About half way across the bridge, the wind picked up and the bridge started swinging violently. "General!" the young demon in front stopped, "The rope is about to snap!"

"Then go stop it!" the General replied as he tried to keep his balance. The young demon tip toed a few more steps to get close enough to jump to the ground at the end of the bridge. He then used his ability to manipulate plants and reinforced each line of rope with vines. "Thank you!" the General shouted as Reiki continued to tip toe.

Reiki was almost to the other side when the planks of wood beneath her gave in. She gasped. The General caught her by the wrist before she plummeted down the canyon. "Hold on, Reiki," he huffed as he pulled her back up with one hand.

"General," Reiki started, but she was a little shaken up.

"Get to the other side, now," The General commanded. Reiki ran to the end of the bridge and straight into the arms of the first young demon. He didn't seem to mind.

When they all had finished crossing the bridge, the wind was wild and a drizzle had started. "Made it by the hairs on my chin, eh?" the General laughed and elbowed one of the young demons in the arm.

"Where do you get your endless supply of bad humor?" the young demon retorted. The General just laughed.

* * *

Reiki stirred in her sleep and awoke to the sounds of destruction. She threw on a white silk robe to cover her body and looked out the window. The underground city was under attack! An older fox demon with grey hair burst through Reiki's bedroom door, "Reiki, hide!" he said out of breath.

"What's going on?" she asked as she grabbed the white cloak Kurama had given her the first time he took her out of the city.

"Bat demons!" he replied as he grabbed her and opened a giant trunk with some fabrics at the bottom of it.

"Bat demons?" Reiki asked as the fox demon forced her into the trunk.

"No time to explain," he replied as he closed the trunk. Reiki heard bashing and clanging and then the final grunts of the elder fox demon. Reiki held her breath, hoping it would help conceal her from the bat demons. She heard them talking to each other; then one started approaching the trunk she was hiding in.

The bat demon opened the trunk and stared down into it, "This isn't a very good hiding spot," he said to her, his red pendent dangling violently from his neck. His ears were extremely long and pointed; his fangs resembled a vampire's. His clothes were dark and splotched with fox blood and he wore a tattered black hat with holes for his ears to fit through.

He reached down and pulled Reiki out of the trunk. He started to say something, but was interrupted by Reiki. She panicked and did the only thing she thought might help her. She screamed, "YOKO!" at the top of her lungs, hoping Kurama's sensitive fox ears would pick up on it.

* * *

Reiki walked through the giant doorway into a throne room with a massive fire pit that lied before the throne. The smoke filled the room with herbal smells and gave off a dim light. She slowly walked up to the fire and saw something move a little behind the flames.

"Dear child," a raspy old woman's voice came from behind the fire, "You came all this way on your own two feet; you must be troubled." She teased with an ancient, all-knowing tone.

"I'm sorry, Muthera. I didn't know who else to turn to," Reiki bent down and sat on her legs politely.

The old voice laughed, "Why would you make this journey for anything other than my help? It's not exactly a walk you'd want to make just to have tea and crumpets," She mocked. Reiki gave a faint smile. The old voice sighed, "Don't worry, I already know of your dilemma. So allow me to share a vision I had with you," the old woman's voice seemed to start have a cooing effect. "Close your eyes and take in the smells of the smoke, child," she said in a softer voice. Reiki did as she was told, the woman continued talking softly and slowly for a moment but Reiki couldn't understand what she was saying. Reiki started to feel lightheaded when she heard Muthera's voice come in again, "Tell me, what do you see?"

As Muthera asked the question, Reiki began to see flashes of a fight Kurama was in. The flashes of images came and went fast and disoriented. A faint, annoying voice was announcing something about the fight in the background. "Yoko is fighting another demon," Reiki paused, her eyes were still closed and she took in a few more deep breaths to help her out. "He keeps switching between his human and demon form, I don't understand," Reiki wanted this magical illusion to stop.

That's alright child, take in another deep breath," Muthera said in a soothing voice.

Reiki reluctantly repeated the breathing process and her head became filled with her own voice that screamed, "YOKO!" She jumped and opened her eyes. "Muthera—"

"Do you still not understand this vision?" Muthera said in her raspy voice.

"I," Reiki lost her words, "I think I do now," she hesitated.

"Kurama needs to be reminded of what he continues to live for," Muthera answered her own question. Reiki looked at the fire pit, drained of energy and emotion. "I have something for you, child," the old voice said as movement began behind the fire. "Come."

Reiki stood up and walked around the fire to be face to face with Muthera. She was small and frail; Reiki could barely make the distinction between her skin and clothes. Her facial features were sunken in and her hair was wildly scattered across her face. In short, she looked like a raisin with a bad hair day. The old woman came around her throne and presented a white cloak, "I believe you lost this a while back, my dear."

Reiki's eyes widened, "Where did you get this?" she asked as she accepted the present.

"I gave it to a young, silver fox demon a very long time ago," Muthera answered, "I told him he would meet a girl who would need it and that it masked the scent of human."

Reiki nearly dropped the robe as the connection was made, "Muthera, I—"

"No need to thank me child, you have more important placed to be right now," the old hag gave a toothy grin.

Reiki threw the robe around her shoulders and thanked Muthera as she ran out of the throne room. "General!" she shouted as she ran out of the castle.

"Yes?" the General turned from the young demons to face Reiki.

"Where would I go to watch demons fight?" she asked as she reached the fox demons.

"What?" the General asked, "The tournament arena, I guess," he said on a whim.

"What is that?" Reiki demanded more information.

"I don't know much, it's some sort of tournament to determine the Ruler of Demon World. Why?" the General answered reluctantly.

"We need to go there," Reiki commanded, "Immediately. Has it started yet?"

"Yes, today. Why are we going there?" The General questioned further.

"Yoko," Reiki answered shortly.

The General sighed then saw the expression across Reiki's face, "Climb on my back," he knelt down in obedience.

"Thank you," Reiki replied as she climbed on.

"Sure thing, just don't be too upset when he disappoints you, or I'll have to fight him."

* * *

Reiki came to in a cell, chained to the wall. She was covered in blood and sweat, her robe was nearly transparent and her cloak was missing. She could barely hold her head up as she heard voices in the distance. _What's going on? Have I been poisoned?_ The voices came closer and she tried to lift her head again.

An obese bat demon came into view and stood beyond the cell bars, "Is this the healer girl you were speaking of?" he asked to someone who seemed to be a guard that nodded. The hug bat demon grinned, "Perfect. Bring her to my chambers and put something nice on her," the huge demon said as he walked away. The guard unlocked the cell then released Reiki's arms. She fell to the ground, unable to move herself. The guard picked her up and took her through corridors to a massive bedroom that smelled of sex and blood.

Reiki cringed, _damn, no noble intentions here, I'm screwed… literally._ She made a small sound as the guard threw her on the bed and started talking to someone. Reiki managed to turn on her stomach and started to lift herself when a ripped female bat demon approached her with dark green cloth, "Wait," was all Reiki cold squeeze out before the demon stripped her and started dressing her in the green cloth. The green cloth turned out to be a sleeveless lingerie cover that barely covered her privates. It was made out of silk and very transparent with a Victorian design. The bra and thong matched the cover up. The demon set Reiki back down on the bed and gave a seemingly sincere apology before disappearing.

_Why can't I move? I had to have been poisoned, I can't even speak! Yoko, where are you!_ Reiki screamed inside her head as she tried to lift herself again. The doors to the bedroom swung open and the fat bat demon strolled in and stopped at the bedside to gaze at his present.

"You're in my way," a deathly angry voice came from behind the fat demon; and the bat demon swung around to face the voice. "She belongs to me," and with those words, the bat demon was split down the middle and fell away. Reiki noticed that she had been crying as she sighed mentally in relief. Kurama walked over to the bedside and sat Reiki up to lean against his chest, "Are you hurt?"

Reiki couldn't control the tears that flowed down her face at this point. It took everything she had to speak, "Poison." Kurama laid her back on the bed and vanished only to return a few seconds later with a cup full of liquid. He helped her drink the serum and then picked her up into his arms and calmly took her away from the bat cave. When they were about half a mile away, Kurama turned back to the bat cave to watch it blow up and burn. Reiki was asleep in his arms.

* * *

**This is my one and only author's note (at least for this story). I dislike writing author's notes, so pay attention please and thank you.**

**For all of you who are pissed off at me for not using words like "Makai" and spelling "Youko", I'm sorry. I'm writing in English, so why the fuck would I not say "Demon World" instead of Makai. If I wanted to write in Japanese, I'd write the entire fucking thing in Japanese. So if this displeases you, go fuck yourself with a razor dildo. Plus, it's not "Youko", it's "Yoko" ever heard of of the music artist? It's spelled "Yoko", same fucking name; yes, Togashi gave Kurama a girl's name. Who the fuck came up with "Youko?" so don't get pissy with my choice of words and spelling, if you don't like it, look it up or GTFO. No hard feelings.**

**For those of you who did not have a tissy fit reading the above paragraph, thank you for understanding. This is the first time I've been on this site in 5 years and that is the kind of shit that pissed me off and stopped posting all those years ago. I love you guys :D  
**

**(OH, and Explicit content in the next chapter)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

**WARNING: THERE IS SEX IN THIS CHAPTER**

**There is also a small amount of bending original story line to the show, so for those of you who dislike that, don't read this chapter. For those of you who don't give a fuck, like me, awesome! Keep reading and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Kurama set the sleeping Reiki down against a tree and sat down beside her. His silver hair clung to his arms and back, drenched in sweat. He let out a heavy sigh and applied pressure to the left side of his waist. He couldn't help but stare at the sleeping Reiki. Her face resembled that of a porcelain doll, her hair slowly inching its way across her face as if she was trying to hide her face from him, even when unconscious. Kurama's eyes trailed from her face to her chest that softly rose and fell. For the first time Kurama took note of her attire. The dark green designs did a poor job of hiding her body. He tried to refrain from focusing on the bottom of the slip, but failed entirely. He convinced himself to look away by leading his eyes to her legs; they were as white and smooth as fresh milk. She smelled like lavender which toyed with Kurama's mind more than once, _how does she always smell like lavender? Does she even know what lavender is?_

Kurama found himself torn about his feelings. This frightened him, but he would never voice either statement. She seemed so innocent and ignorant, but at the same time she seemed to be almost as calm and collected as himself. Kurama's brain kept reminding him of the professional reasons not to indulge himself, but the rest of his body wanted otherwise.

"Yoko?" came her small, timid voice that pierced through his thoughts. Reiki pulled her hair out of her face slowly and looked over to verify that he was there.

"How are you feeling?" Kurama greeted her in a content, tired voice as he checked his posture.

"I feel much better" Reiki said as she turned her face from him, ashamed of what had almost happened to her, "Thank you." Her voice seemed depressed and helpless.

Kurama stood up and lent her a hand that she took delicately. As she stood, the slip came dangerously close to revealing her thong. Kurama bit his tongue to focus his eyes and mind elsewhere. "Reiki," he trailed off. She looked up at him and he tilted his head the slightest to avoid staring at her cleavage, "I'm sorry."

Reiki's eyes popped wide open at those words, "Excuse me?"

Kurama looked her in the face, her eyes were a light grey tone in the evening light, "I should have been in the city last night, there were no plans to leave," he confessed.

Reiki blinked with bewilderment, "Did you just apologize?"

Kurama tried not to react to her dwelling on it, "I'm afraid so; I made a mistake that put you in danger. I can't forgive myself for that." He said this as he looked off into the distance, this time it was he who was afraid to look at her.

"You're hurt," Reiki touched his left waist side but Kurama stepped back. "Yoko, you're hurt, let me fix it," she tried to come close again.

Kurama grabbed her wrists, "No," he said almost harshly, "You're weak right now."

Reiki was startled by the harshness and looked at him pleadingly, "Please, Yoko. That's a serious wound."

Kurama pushed her hands away, "I said you're too weak to be healing anyone right now. I'm not willing to deal with the consequences of you exerting your power when you're poisoned."

"I feel fine," Reiki argued.

"That's only because I gave you a serum that is currently fighting the poison," Kurama explained.

"But—" Reiki gave up, emotionally exhausted.

"Let's go," Kurama said, back to his emotionless self. As he walked, Reiki stared at the puddles of blood he was leaving behind. After a moment, Kurama looked back to see Reiki standing in the same spot, staring at the ground, "Reiki," he called to her.

"I won't," she said and bit her lip, afraid of how Kurama might react.

"Now is not the time for this, Reiki," Kurama tried not to growl.

"No! I won't leave this spot until you let me help you! You're going to die; you're bleeding out as we sp—"

Kurama appeared in front of Reiki and pulled her face to his, their lips almost bruising each other. Their bodies simultaneously unwound and sank into each other. Reiki felt almost consumed by Kurama as the lines that defined them started to disappear. Kurama released Reiki and prayed his actions would keep her from getting any more upset, he knew her feeling her him by her body language over the many years they've known each other.

Reiki blinked, completely taken aback, her heart ached, the first sign of it still being there. She didn't know how to react so she just stood there and stared up at him.

"If you insist, go ahead," Kurama said after a moment of silence. He began to undress himself for her.

Reiki was still paralyzed, "Why did you," she couldn't finish.

"Don't make me answer such an obvious question," Kurama tried to make himself seem heartless, but that obviously wasn't going to work anymore.

Reiki silently pressed her hands against the wound, his blood pouring through her fingers as she did. She took in a deep breath and healed his wound. Her hand lingered on his waist after it had healed, she had no idea what to do or say.

Kurama stepped away from her and got dressed. "Can we go home now?" he asked, sounding exhausted. Reiki just nodded, exhausted herself.

* * *

Kurama walked silently in thought through the hallways of the tournament stadium. He never looked up when he crossed Yusuke, but Yusuke followed him, wondering when Kurama would notice. "Are you going to follow me all the way to the rink, Yusuke?" he asked gently after a minute.

"Gyah," Yusuke had just been thrown back to reality from his own thoughts. "Sorry," he laughed, "I spaced out."

Kurama stopped and turned to his friend with a weak smile, "I didn't realize my hair had the power to brainwash people," he cracked.

"Ha, ha," Yusuke replied in a slow monotone. They both stood in silence a moment. "So," Yusuke attempted his original purpose for being there. The only problem was he wasn't sure how to phrase his concern.

Kurama was well aware of his friend's concern for him though, "Don't worry, Yusuke," Kurama released Yusuke of thought processing, "I'll be fine. I'm a survivor."

"Yeah, but," Yusuke took in a deep breath, he wasn't good at this sort of thing, "You look lost, Kurama. I don't mean to sound harsh, but, I guess, I'm worried about you."

Kurama's smile grew genuine, "Thank you, Yusuke," Yusuke looked at the red head in confusion. "I already feel more confident knowing you care; but the truth is I am lost." Yusuke's jaw mentally dropped, he stared at Kurama in disbelief. "Since the Dark Tournament, I've been growing weaker to resisting my dark ambitions, and there is a three way war waging inside of me, if you must know. As I stand her in front of you I can feel the human part of me struggling not to be suffocated by my demon half."

Yusuke blinked, _what's he mean by three?_ "That's heavy," was all Yusuke could think of in response.

Kurama felt comforted by his friend's compassion, and possibly by his stupidity as well, "Don't worry about me, Yusuke. I'm glad you sought me out, it's helped me. Unfortunately, no one can help me with the rest of my internal struggle except myself, I'll just have to figure something out," Kurama turned and continued his march to the rink.

"You always do," Yusuke murmured to himself reassuringly, not shy of Kurama's earshot. Yusuke felt helpless watching his friend walk away, _Will you walk away forever?_ Yusuke worried to himself and for his friend. He didn't like feeling helpless, he wished he could do something, but was at a complete loss.

_Yusuke, I consider you one of my best friends. I appreciate the concern, but you're not welcome in my mind and my past. That's my burden; it's something I have to figure out on my own. Forgive my vague confession; I know how much that probably pissed you off._ Kurama thought to his friend as he walked out of the odd building and into the dessert sunshine. He squinted in blindness, his eyes still used to the dark hallways. The wind kicked up sand as Kurama trudged through the dunes to his rink where Shigure waited to destroy him.

He paused as he caught a distantly familiar scent, _God damn you, Reiki. Get out of my head! I don't have time to think about you right now._

* * *

Reiki jumped off of the General's back and lead the race inside the gigantic stadium filled with cheering and booing. The General wanted to advise Reiki but withdrew his opinions and followed her silently. She ran through the entrance, the guards at the entrance approached to stop her but cowered as they saw the four fox demons charging after her. Reiki headed straight for the middle of the stadium in hopes of figuring out what was going on there.

She turned a corner and ran straight into Yusuke who almost fell over, "Hey, watch where you're going!" he cried as he rubbed his shoulder. The four fox demons appeared behind Reiki who was rubbing her head and muttering apologies. "Holy shit! It's four Kuramas!" Yusuke freaked.

"You know Yoko?" Reiki looked up at him with determined eyes.

"Depends on who's asking," he paused and analyzed Reiki, "Are you human?" he freaked again.

"Yes, where's Yoko?" she demanded.

"Hold up a minute," Yusuke replied defensively, "Who the fuck are you and what do you want with Kurama? And why are you calling him Yoko?" Yusuke shot off in his normally confused and angered manner.

Reiki stared at him, "Who are you supposed to be?" she retorted, not wanting to answer him.

"Reiki!" the General called to her and she looked to the General, "Come quickly, he's already fighting." Reiki ran in the direction the General was pointing. They ran out to the crowd and watched what was playing on the giant screens.

"So, do any of you want to stop being secretive here?" Yusuke felt like he was talking to himself. "I see you guys are fox demons like Kurama, but come on!" Yusuke didn't enjoy this crowd he'd ran into, they all reminded him of his friend's relentless vagueness and mystery. _First I find out Kurama's friends with a mad man, now this?_

One of the young demons turned to Yusuke, "Kurama is our king," he answered as if it were obvious.

Yusuke's eyes nearly fell out of his head, "King? What the fuck?"

Reiki snapped around to Yusuke, she fought to hold back tears of worry, "Please," she choked, "I need to go to him."

Yusuke's temper vanished when he looked at Reiki; "You're really torn up about this guy aren't you?" he didn't wait for an answer, "Alright, follow me." Yusuke lead them out to the dessert, watching the fox demons suspiciously.

Koto came on the intercom spewing her usual annoying chatter and Satanist obsessions. Reiki stopped in her tracks.

"What's up, strange human girl?" Yusuke asked annoyed.

"That's what I heard in my vision," Reiki answered as if she wasn't actually there.

"Vision? What happens next?" Yusuke mused agitated.

Reiki remembered the expression she saw on Kurama's face in the vision, the expression of giving up. She screamed, "YOKO!"

* * *

Reiki followed behind Kurama silently for a long time. It was almost sun set the next day after the bat cave blew up when they spoke again, "Hey, Yoko?" Reiki asked sheepishly, watching the ground.

"Yes?" he replied emotionless as he stared ahead of him, his pace never faltered.

"How long have you had feeling for me?" she forced herself to ask without stuttering.

Kurama stopped walking and bowed his head slightly, "We shouldn't talk about this, Reiki."

"Why?"

"Because you are my investment, and I am your shield."

"You should explain more thoroughly, then."

Kurama turned to face her, "There are not many things in this world I hold value to, Reiki. Everything I touch gets destroyed." She stared at him; she already knew who he really was. "I refuse to force my curse upon you."

Reiki covered her mouth to hide her giggles, "You already have, Yoko. I'm human but I'm also four hundred years old. How many humans do you know who are as old as I am?" Kurama turned away, ashamed. "I don't mind, it's a much better fate than being sacrificed to a disgusting, giant. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do; I'm still grateful I fell helplessly into your hands. If it were any other demon, I would have already met a defiling demise." Kurama looked back up at her in surprise; he'd never heard her say so much at once. "Plus, I see you on the brink of death monthly; you think I don't know who you really are?"

Kurama stared at her as she continued, "Stealing and killing is in your blood, and I understand that. You're also a king and a compassionate person. You forced me to become immortal to forever accompany your kingdom because you care about your people, as much as you wish you didn't. You killed Yomi, your best friend, to protect your people from his ignorance. You play it off as cold and heartless because you don't want to experience emotion."

"That's enough, Reiki," Kurama growled. His entire life he had put up a barrier to avoid letting people inside his mind.

"You have saved me several times, try desperately for me to feel comfortable around you, give me countless gifts, and take me on journeys across the world because I told you I daydreamt about the world once. You think I can't understand you, but the only thing I can't understand is how you ignore and fight away emotions. I've seen how the people in your city live, they coincide with each other just like humans, they care about each other, and you care about them. You have feelings and morals just like the rest of us, human or demon. I've been sitting in silence watching you for four centuries, Yoko."

"Reiki!" Kurama growled in a deeper tone, "Shut up!" Kurama had no idea how to handle himself while being put on blast; no one has ever dared to call him out before.

Reiki jumped and covered her mouth hoping it would help her to stay quiet.

"I've had feelings for you since I first brought you to my kingdom. What does it matter though, if I can't make you feel anything but fear me?"

Reiki took her hand away to reveal a small smile, "I'm not afraid of you," she tried to reply.

"Then why do you act like you think I'm about to kill you all the time?"

"Because you're my king, I try not to be scared, but I'm not afraid of you, I'm afraid _for_ you."

"Why?"

"Because you torture yourself. When you leave the city, I'm always afraid you'll never come back because you think you don't deserve to be a king."

"I get it, you know me better than I know myself. Why did you start this conversation?" he finally looked back at her; thoroughly worn out from having to have this conversation.

She smiled at him, "Because I love you."

Kurama's heart reached up and grabbed onto his vocal cords. He couldn't move he just stared at her in her revealing lingerie. "Reiki—"

"Just kiss me already," she cut him off demandingly. Kurama obeyed. He pulled her into him, one hand firmly on her lower back, the other grabbed up her hair and he bent down for his lips to touch hers. Reiki was paralyzed by the sudden onslaught of aggression and passion. Kurama bit her lower lip and she gasped, allowing his tongue access into her mouth. Reiki was completely helpless but fireworks of bliss were going off in her head. Her body gave in and Kurama pulled her closer to him, their pelvic bones were the only thing stopping them from becoming one person. Their embrace couldn't last forever though, they had to breathe eventually.

Kurama pulled away gently and slowly, "Reiki," he breathed, "you realize what you've done don't you?"

She looked up into his golden eyes, "There's probably no stopping you, right?" Kurama nodded. Reiki tried to hide her happiness but the smile on her face betrayed her, "I was hoping that was the case."

Kurama's smile was large and genuinely happy; his eyes on the other hand were slowly turning lustful. He pushed Reiki onto the ground and followed her down; pushing his hips into hers. She let out a small noise as his lips silenced her. His tongue resumed its former position in her mouth. She could barely breathe, but that just intensified the pleasure. Kurama's hands found her breasts and started caressing them semi-aggressively. Reiki moaned against her will, her entire body tingled; her moan vibrated both of them. Kurama couldn't stop and he didn't care to. He let his hands wonder down to her thighs and they slid up under the green slip and latched onto the thong. He ripped it down past Reiki's knees and returned to gently caress her clit.

This sent entirely new sensations through Reiki's spine; she squirmed a little at first then gave way to more moans. Kurama pulled his lips away from hers and their eyes met. Their breaths crashed into each other as they stared into each other's eyes. Kurama went back to kissing her, only this time it was gentle and slow. Reiki's hands slid around his neck, his silver hair tangling between her fingers and around her wrists. He discretely removed his pants and spread her legs wide. His penis found her vagina like they did it every day and he pushed in gently. Reiki pulled his face closer to hers to help silence her. He began pumping slowly and softly, waiting for the area to be smothered in bodily fluids before he really began.

Kurama pulled Reiki's arms away and pinned them down next to her head. He returned to kissing for a brief second then gave in to his demonic side. He began thrusting his pelvis into hers faster and with more force. His penis driving deeper and deeper until their bones prevented him from going any further. Reiki's moans became loud and more frequent, her eyes were so far back in her head that her eyelids were fully closed. Kurama continued this way for a while, mixing between slow and gentle, and fast and rough.

After a while, he pulled out and flipped Reiki onto her stomach. He pulled her waist to his causing her to be on her hands and knees. His dick realigned inside of her vagina with ease, again starting slow and gentle. Reiki gasped for air, her hair falling to block the view of the world. Kurama didn't wait long to continue pounding her as harshly as their bodies allowed. As his pace sped up, Reiki's moans turned into full on yelps, half caused by pain, the other by pleasure. Her sight went black and tears rolled down her face; she let out one final yell as Kurama pushed in one last time.

They collapsed to the ground, breathless and exhausted.

* * *

Kurama's eyes snapped open to Reiki's voice. He brought himself to his hands and knees on the branch of the giant cherry blossom tree. Did he really just hear Reiki screaming for him, or was he imagining it?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Kurama found his footing and released his grip he had had on Yomi for support. Yomi started to walk away, but paused and asked, "Kurama, have you forever deserted yourself as Yoko?" Yomi was referring to Kurama's internal battle that just played out on the battle field.

Kurama looked up to his old friend before a scent distracted him. He looked over the sand dunes as a large group of people started to emerge from behind it. Yomi looked to his old friend and smiled to himself when he saw the emotions and insecurity run through Kurama's face in that split moment. One of the figures was still running towards the two old demons while the rest of the group stopped when they saw that their friend was being helped already. Kurama had to fight a smile down. "Oh, no. I never leave anything behind. I never have," Kurama finally replied as Reiki caught up to the old demons and stopped. She was out of breath. Yomi smirked at Reiki and silently slipped away to leave the two alone in the desert. Kurama looked at her, "Reiki…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say or do.

Reiki just stared at the red headed boy for a moment then threw herself into his arms. Kurama accepted the embrace and pulled her to his chest and held her tight.

* * *

Yusuke leaned over to the General, "Can you _please_ explain all of this to me now?"

The General laughed, "Aren't you supposed to be a detective?"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke retorted in defense.

The General laughed even louder, "They like each other, I kind of thought it was obvious."

Yusuke's eyes grew wide, "Kurama likes girls?"

The General nearly fell over in laughter, "Did you think he liked men?"

"Well, no, but," Yusuke stopped and thought about it, which was surprising. "I guess I did, he's never shown any interest in someone, so I assumed… I don't know! Why are we talking about this?" He exclaimed in his juvenile manner.

The General gave another light laugh, "You're hilarious!"

"Yes, hysterical," Hiei noted sarcastically to the side.

* * *

Reiki pulled back and looked up at the now much shorter Kurama who was still tall in comparison to her, "Yoko," she spoke as if she were about to cry, "I was afraid I'd never see you again."

Kurama looked down at her, her hood had fallen down when they embraced and her hair was now blowing wildly in the wind and the faint smell of lavender filled his senses. He wanted to speak, but he had lost that ability so he pulled her close again. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss with no sign of ever letting go. Reiki felt no difference between his old and new bodies as the world around them faded away.

"Hey, Kurama!" Yusuke's voice pierced through the second embrace. Kurama pulled back and looked to see all of his new friends gawking and he turned red and well aware of the oncoming questions and jokes. "There are these things called bedrooms for that kind of stuff!" Yusuke continued moronically. Jin and Chu were vaguely heard cracking jokes off to the side.

Kurama turned back to Reiki, "Reiki," he paused, that was the first time he had spoken her name aloud in several years. "I'm sorry but I have to ask you to go back to the city, I'm in no condition to protect anyone right now."

"But—"

"I will be there in less than three months; I have a lot on my agenda at the moment. I'm sorry it has taken this long; it was not my intention to be gone more than ten years. We can talk about it later," Kurama tried to briefly explain.

Reiki looked up at him, she wanted to know more but wasn't sure how to ask. She stepped back and analyzed the new Kurama, "You're hurt," she mentioned as if she wasn't sure he was aware of it.

"I know, but you can't heal me when I'm in my human form, my body won't be able to handle it," Kurama admitted.

"Can you change into your demon form?"

"Yes, but I can't let you heal me, it's against the tournament rules."

Reiki just stared at the wounds for a moment.

"I'll be back soon, there's somewhere I want to take you when I do." Kurama smiled.

"Where?" Reiki asked softly.

"It's a secret." Kurama gave her an evil grin as the four fox demons approached.

The General gave Kurama a sturdy war hand shake out of loyalty that pulsed through all the fox demons' veins, "We thought you had ditched us," he said in a serious tone sprinkled with a jokester manner. He wanted answers as well but he thought that if Kurama wasn't in the mood to enlighten Reiki, he sure wasn't about to enlighten the General.

"I was thinking about it," Kurama retorted.

"You were?" The General exclaimed.

Kurama let out a small chuckle, "No, it's just taken far longer to get back than I expected."

"It's because your new funny friends are more exciting than us, isn't it?" The General beamed in jealousy.

"They need a lot of help."

The General laughed, "Well let us know when you're done babysitting," he waved as they started to walk away.

Reiki looked back at Kurama before she started after the fox demons. "Reiki," Kurama grabbed her wrist before she walked away, "I promise I'll be home soon," he said sincerely.

Reiki smiled, "You better be," she gave the light threat as she snuck away from his grip and chased after the fox demons.

Kurama watched after them lost in thought, he didn't even notice the gang approaching behind him.

"Earth to Kurama!" Yusuke nearly shouted into his ear.

Kurama jumped and turned to face his execution.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT ABOUT?" Yusuke stormed confused about the explosion of information about Kurama's secret past.

Kurama sweat dropped, "I guess I should ask where you'd like me to start."

"The human girl, the king, the lots of other Kuramas," Yusuke exclaimed. Kurama chuckled and his legs gave in. "Kurama?" Yusuke asked then rushed to his friend's aid, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Kurama muttered as Yusuke helped him up and started to lead him to the hospital that was built specifically for the tournament.

"I guess you can explain later, when you're not dying on me," Yusuke released Kurama from his interrogation. Kurama chuckled again. "Don't think you can get away with not explaining though! You better tell me!" Yusuke started shouting again.

"It's quite a long story, I'm afraid you'd fall asleep," Kurama joked.

* * *

Kurama sighed and sat on the edge of the boat as he watched Yusuke, Keiko and the rest play in the waves of the ocean at dusk.

"What's got you so blue?" Shizuru asked as she dragged on her cigarette and sat down next to him.

Kurama looked over to her then to the sand beneath his feet.

"Come on, kid," Shizuru pressed, "It's not good to keep your feelings bottled up."

Kurama looked back at her, "I guess you're right," he replied wearily.

"So?" Shizuru pressed again.

Kurama gave in to the peer pressure, "I miss her."

"Who?" Shizuru asked blankly.

Kurama forgot that Yusuke and Botan had just returned so no one else knew about Reiki and the four fox demon that showed up during the Demon World Tournament. "A girl from my past, I promised her I'd return to her, but I don't feel up to the position I would be in if I did."

"Okay, Mr. Vague, what does that mean?"

Kurama sweat dropped at the nick name, "I'm actually the ruler of an entire breed of demons. I'm not ready to go back to that life… but I miss the girl I had when I was just Yoko Kurama."

Shizuru laughed a little, "Well, is she still alive?"

Kurama looked at her like the question was close to stupid, "Yes."

"Then go get her and bring her back here, I'm sure everyone else would enjoy knowing you aren't a creepy old man in a kid's body who may or may not be into guys." Shizuru giggled behind her hand at Kurama's facial expression.

Kurama looked away shaking his head lightly and went back to watching the gang out in the ocean and a smile came across his face he couldn't hide. The kiss between Yusuke and Keiko pierced his heart and reminded him of the first time he took Reiki on a journey to show her the ocean. He sighed again as he made a decision.

"Again, with the sighing!" Shizuru exclaimed, "Go to her already."

Kurama stood up and turned to Shizuru, "Thank you, I wouldn't have realized how important it was if it weren't for your nagging." He dipped out behind the sand dune before she could reply.

"Nagging? Hey come back here you—you—fox boy…" Shizuru deadpanned.

The End.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Afterwards**

**Chapter 8: Kuronue's Chapter ( promised someone)**


	7. Afterwards

Afterwards

Reiki stirred in her sleep, a commotion starting somewhere in the city. She climbed out of her huge canopy bed and threw on her robe and went to the window to see what was going on. The entire population of fox demons was starting to gather at the underground river entrance into the city. The General knocked then let himself into Reiki's room, "Kurama's back."

"Yes, thank you general. I'm well aware of the obvious," Reiki marched past the General and down the hall, down the stairs, and out of the mansion towards the crowd. The crowd grew quiet when Reiki approached and the fox demons started to move out of the way as Kurama walked through and stood before her.

"Ready for that journey?" he asked in his calm, collected tone. Reiki nodded and tried to fight off the urge to run into his arms again.

"We'll be gone for a while, General, don't get out of hand." The General made a smart remark that no one paid attention to. Kurama lead Reiki away and out of the city.

"Where are we going?" Reiki asked quietly as they turned around a tree that revealed a hole in the air that seemed to be some sort of wormhole.

"The Human World," Kurama smirked.

"What?" Reiki asked in shock, "How is that possible?"

Kurama smiled more genuinely, "A friend of mine destroyed the Kekkai Barrier so anyone can go between the two worlds now."

"Isn't that bad?"

"We'll find a way to keep it under control," Kurama motioned for her to jump into the vortex. She tiptoed over to it and looked inside. "It won't hurt you," Kurama reassured.

"Okay," Reiki peeped and carefully stepped inside and Kurama followed, the wormhole vanishing behind him.

* * *

"What?" Botan screeched throughout the temple, "he went back to the Demon World?"

"Yup," Shizuru answered nonchalantly as she put a black pebble on a go board.

"But why? He just got back!" Botan exclaimed and sat down next to Shizuru with a huff.

"He said something about a chick he had way back when," Shizuru explained as she watched Kuwabara place a white pebble on the board.

"Kurama likes girls?" Kuwabara exclaimed.

Yusuke erupted into laughter, "That's what I said!"

"You knew about this!" Kuwabara and Botan questioned simultaneously.

"You know about her too, Botan. Why are you acting like you didn't see that smooch at the tournament?" Yusuke raised his voice in defense.

"I just didn't know he left to go to her," Botan crossed her arms across her chest.

"Why do you care so much?" Yusuke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I—eh— I don't care!" Botan's face started to turn red.

"Sounds like someone's disappointed," Shizuru monotoned as she placed another black pebble.

"Oh my god! You like Kurama!" Yusuke shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Botan.

"I do not!" Botan's voice cracked and her face resembled a tomato.

"Yes! You do!" Yusuke continued to tease.

"Okay, fine!" Botan huffed again, "I'm attracted to the guy, but it's not like I had any other options!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yusuke asked sounded offended.

"I mean you are with Keiko, Kuwabara has his thing for Yukina, Hiei's off doing creepy stuff with Mukuro, and now Kurama has this mystery girl! Who am I supposed to love?" Botan felt even heavier after saying her thoughts out loud.

"Oh, come on, Botan. You'll find someone eventually," Shizuru tried to ease her troubled mind.

"No I won't. I'm," Botan dropped her head in defeat, "Forever alone…"

Yusuke furrowed one eye brow, "Don't say that," Yusuke paused trying to think of something encouraging to say. "You just need to meet someone more… bubbly."

"Yeah, Kurama's all calm and collected. You need a guy who can keep up with your enthusiasm," Kuwabara chimed in.

"I'm baaaaaack!" Koenma cheered as he walked into the room with Genkai.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Shizuru covered their faces to try and muffle their laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Koenma's voice cracked.

Yusuke waved his hand as if to say, "Nothing, nothing at all!"

"Oh god!" Botan yelled as she understood what the three were getting at.

"What on earth have I walked in to?" Kurama asked quietly from the door.

"Hormones," Reiki answered shortly.

* * *

**A/N: LOL! Forever alone. I had to XP**


End file.
